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Feb. 14,'1933. J. R. ROYER TRACTOR DRAWN ROAD MAINTAINER Filed Jan. 12,1931 ...iXi/Iii nv liv.

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ATT NEY Patented Feb. 14, 1933 UNHTED STATES C? 7 l,87i9,677

JESSE R. ROYER, OF J'ANESVILLE, IOWA TRACTOR DRAWN ROAD MAINTAINERApplication led January 12, 1931. Serial No. 508,076.

My invention relates to improvements in tractor-drawn road maintainers,and the object of my improvement is to provide means on a road grader,maintainer or the like, op-

erable from a tractor hitched thereto, whereby a single person on thetractor may easily operate the tractor, while effecting manually throughsuch means, without interference, positional adjustments of either endof the grader blade of the road maintainer, for economical practice. Y

This object I have accomplished by the means which are hereinafterdescribed and claimed, and which are illustrated in the accompanyingdrawing, in which Fig. 1 is a perspective view of a connected tractorand road maintainer containing my improvement, and Fig. 2 is afragmentary top plan of parts of both as linked by a draft connection.Fig. 3 is an enlarged detail side elevation, with parts in partialsection, of the hand-wheels and the gears operated thereby.

Figs. l and 2 of the drawing show conventionally a tractor 18 having adraft connection 16 and 17 rigidly connected between it and the axle ofthe forward wheels 6 of'a road grader or maintainer, the axle, in theusual manner being swingably mounted on a verticai shaft 2O dependingfrom the forward end of the main frame 1 of the maintainer. The mainframe 1 is supported on said forward wheels 6, and also on a pair ofrear carrying wheels. and sub-frame members 2 are hung below the mainframe at its forward end pivotally on hangers therefor, while the rearends of the rearwardly divergent parts of the sub-frame 2 are hung forvertical adjustments and regulation on the main frame.

The main frame 1 has fixed longitudinally spaced pairs of like standards34 and 33, on opposite parts thereof, and each of said pairs has sha trotatably mounted on and therebetween carrying a worm-wheel 32. A worm31 is in mesh with each worm-wheel 32 and has on its inner end abevel-gear 29 in mesh with a bevel-pinion 28 on a forwardly directedshaft, the shafts numbered 11 and 12, convergent forwardly and having ontheir forvward ends, as shown in said Fig. 3, bevelpinions 26 and 27respectively, the pinion 11 being uppermost, and the said pinions are inrespective mesh with bevel gears 24 and 25, mounted on the steeringshaft 2O at the forward end of the frame 1. i

This axle is thus swingable horizontally on the frame 1. y

The rear parts of the sub-frame members 2 are suspended by means oflinks 15 connected pivotally at their upper ends to laterally projectingrock-arms 35 whose inner ends are 60 fixed to the worm-wheels 32. Agrading implement 4, is suspended by hangers 3 near its ends to themembers of the sub-frame 2. The bevel-gear 25 is splined to the shaft20, which carries at the top the hand-wheel 9, but the hand-wheel 10below the hand-wheel 9 has a hub part 23 rotatable on the shaft 20 andwhich hub is integral with the upper bevel-gear 24. Thus the hand-wheel9 may be used to operate the bevel-gears 25 and 27 7-0 with the shaftV12, while the hand-wheel 10 is used to operate the bevel-gears 24 and26 and the other shaft 11, in causing the links 15 to respectively liftup or down adjustingly and independently the opposite ends of thegrading implement or blade 4.

It is to be understood that the means shown in Fig. 1, while arepresentation of such means on a road maintainer actually in successfulemployment, is merely a diagrammatic view. In fact, my invention may beused on other types of road graders or maintainers, by slight variationsin the connecting mechanisms and without departing from the principle ofthe invention.

The tractor has the usual steering-wheel and also a drivers seat 19 on asupport 21. Preferably, the seat 19 faces one side of the tractor forthe convenience of the driver, who is thus easily enabled to manipulatethe steering-wheel with one hand, while regulating the tilting of theblade 4 in manually rotating selectively either of the hand-wheels 9er10 with his other hand. Thus, a single person may perform both saidoflices, a saving of labor cost, inasmuch as in the usual practice, two1men are required, to separately perform these services. Y

Fig. 2, where mechanical details are reduced to a minimum,'shows by aradius a 100 and arc, both in dotted lines, the maintenance of relativeposition of the drivers seat 19 and driver thereon to the axis of thehandwheels 9 and 10, which radius is invariable, no matter what is thelateral angular shifting of the tractor 18 in turning, and therefore thedriver always can manipulate said hand-wheels without difficulty,interference, or change of position in reaching. The draft connection 16thus serves as a radius-rod for the purpose of swinging the forwardwheels 6 of the maintainer in turning. As the handwheels are spaced buta short distance apart, the drivers hand reaches any4 portions of therims of'either easily, as neither hand-wheel is interposed between thedriver and the other hand-wheel when the tractor is shifted angularlylaterally as is the case when vertically disposed hand-wheels mounted ona horizontal aXis on the road maintainer are used.

Having described my invention, what I claim as new, and desire to secureby Letters Patent, is:

1. In apparatus of the character described, in combination, a wheelsupported frame, a steering-member therefor, a pair of substantiallyhorizontal superposed hand-wheels adjacent said steering-member, agrading implement supported on said frame for vertical and tiltingadjustments, and connecting mechanisms between said hand-wheelsrespectively and opposite ends of said implement to independently raiseand lower said ends.

2. In apparatus of the character described, a tractor, a road maintainermounted for transportation adjacent thereto, adraft connectiontherebetween, a steering wheel on the tractor, a pair of hand-wheels,separately rotatable about a common axis and positioned adjacent thetractor on the road maintainer, a drivers seat positioned between thesteering-wheel and the road m'aintainer on the tractor, carrying-wheelsmounted below the road maintainer hand-wheels and swingable about theaforesaid common axis, said draft connection being connected with saidwheels. a road treating implement mounted under and supported on theroad maintainer for vertical tilting adjustments, and like independentpower transmission devices connected from said hand-wheels respectivelyto opposite parts of said implement for independently lifting orlowering said parts.

3. In apparatus of the character described, in combination, a roadmaintainer structure supported on carrying wheels at its forward andrear ends, the forward wheels being swingably mounted on a verticalaxis, a tractor adjacent said structure having a radiusrodfdraftconnection to said forward wheels, and having a steering-wheel,substantially horizontal slightly spaced hand-wheels for independentrotation relatively to said axis on said structure, a` grading implementof elongated form mounted movably below said structure, like independentpower transmission devices connected operatively between saidhand-wheels and opposite end parts of said implement, whereby either endof the implement may be separately only lifted or lowered, and a driversseat mounted on the tractor between the steering-wheel and said pair ofhand-wheels, spaced from both for ease of manipulation of either.

4. In apparatus of the character described, in combination, a tractor, aroad maintainer having an angularly movable rigid hitchconnection tosaid tractor, the maintainer having a grader blade movably supportedthereon, independently selectively rotatable vertically spacedhorizontal hand-wheels on said maintainer adjacent saidhitch-connection, and operating connections between the hand-wheelsrespectively and one or the other of the opposite end parts of saidblade, for independently raising or lowering the ends of the blade.

5. In apparatus of the character described, in combination, a tractorhaving a terminal seat facing laterally, a road maintainer having aterminal rigid anc swinging hitch-connection to the tractor-end havingsaid seat, a grader bladD below said maintainer, independentlyselectively rotatable uniaxial vertically spaced horizontal hand-wheelson the maintainer above the rear end of said hitchconnection, andoperating elements connected between said hand-wheels respectively andan associated end part of the grader blade, whereby either end of theblade may be raised or lowered independently of the other end, thehand-wheels being manually accessible from the tractor seat fornoninterfering selective operation of either wheel independently of theother.

In testimony whereof I aiiii: my signature.

JESSE R. ROYER.

